Francis d



(No Model.)

P. D. TAYLOR.

Wash Boiler. No. 231,507. Patented Aug. 24,1880.

Francis 5, 72 7101; Z fill) Monty! N-FETERS. FHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D. C:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

FRANOIS TAYLOR, OF ASTON, NEAR BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

WASH-BOILER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,507, dated August 24, 1880. Application filed June 18, 1880. (No model.) Patented in England September 18, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANGIS DANIEL TAY- LOR, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Aston, near Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England, soap-manufacturer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wash-Boilers, (for which I have received Letters Patent in England No. 3,754, dated September 18, 187 9,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for washing or cleansing linen and other fabrics, clothes, and other articles by means of steam and condensed water applied as hereinafter explained.

By the use of apparatus constructed according to my invention the washing or cleansing of the linen or other fabrics, clothes, and other articles is effected in a simple and effioient manner, and much time, labor, and material are saved, and wear and damage to the articles washed much diminished.

In constructing apparatus according to my invention I take a metallic vessel or case or body, and I arrange therein a cage or receiver of a reticulated or meshed material, the said cage being open at the top. This cage or receiver may be made of wire-work or perforated metal. The said cage or receiver is divided by vertical divisions into compartments. The divisions are hollow, and constitute passages or flues. In the compartments of the cage the linen or other fabrics, clothes, or other articles to be washed or cleansed are packed. After packing the articles in the cage the top of the outer vessel or case or body is closed by a tight-fitting lid or cover. Steam is then supplied to the apparatus beneath the cage or receiver.

The apparatus may be supported by a flange or flanges on the case or body in the mouth of an ordinary open scullery copper or boiler or steam may be supplied from the boiler of a cooking-grate, or conveyed by a pipe from any convenient closed boiler. The steam rises into and through the linen or articles packed in the compartments of the cage, and steam also passes, by the hollow divisions or flues, to the articles in the cage, and to the top, where it is condensed by the closed top or cover. By the action of the steam and the condensed water upon the moist clothes or articles in the cage the greater part of the dirt and impurities is removed, and the remainderis softened and brought into such a state as to be easily removed by a subsequent slight rubbing in the wash-tub.

I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the manner in which my invention may be performed.

Figure 1 represents in vertical section, and Fig. 2 in plan, with the cover removed, an apparatus for washing or cleansing linen fabrics, clothes, and other articles, constructed according to my invention. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the cage or receiver detached from the other parts of the apparatus, the said Fig. 3 being taken in a plane at right angles to that in which the section, Fig. 1, is taken.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawlugs.

to is the metallic case or body of the apparatus. b is the cage or receiver in which the linen, clothes, or other articles to be washed or cleansed are packed, the said cage or receiver being supported or suspended concentrically in the case or body a by resting upon the three equidistant ledges or supports 0 o c, on the inner side of the said case or body a or other means of supporting or suspending the cage may be used.

The cage or receiver b (represented in the drawings) is made of wire-work; butit may be made of perforated metal or of other rigid reticulated or perforated material. The meshed or perforated cage or receiver bis open at the top, and the lowerend projects below the bottom of the case or body a, in which it is suspended.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I have represented the apparatus in conjunction with a pan, d, for holding the water from which the steam to be supplied to the apparatus is generated. The said pan d is heated by being placed upon an ordinary kitchen-fire or upon the hot plate of a kitchen-range, or otherwise heated by external heat.

The case or body a, containing the case b, is supported upon the pan (1 by means of the annular flange 0, near the base of the case or body, resting upon the top of the pan, the

lower part of the case or body entering the mouth of the pan, as seen in Fig. 1. The annular flange 0 will also serve to support the washing apparatus in the mouth of an ordinary open scullery copper or boiler, the pan (1 in that case beingdispensed with. The steam from the said copper or boiler rises through the apparatus, as hereinafter explained.

The top of the case or body a. is furnished with a tight-fitting lid or cover, f. The top of the cage b is situated somewhat below the top of the case a, and the space between the said top of the cage and the lid or coverfof the body constitutes a steanrcondensing chamber, 9. The diameter of the cage I) is somewhat less than that of the body a, so that when the cageis suspended in its place an annular space, h, (see Fig. 1,) is left between the sides of the cage 1) and the body or case a, for the passage of steam from the pan (1 into and among the linen or articles and to the coudensing-chamber g.

The meshed cage or receiver 1) is divided by three (or other number of) vertical divisions, t' it, into compartments mm. The divisions i Mare so constructed as to constitute steam passages or does. In the drawings the said steam passages or flues of the cage are constructed of parallel or doubled wires, situated a short distance apart, so that the steam, besides rising up the passages, can pass into and among the linen or articles in the compartments m in through the meshes in the divisions or flues.

Although I prefer to make the divisions or fines i i iin the cage of a meshed structure, as described and represented, yet the said divisions orflues may be constructed of flat or other shaped perforated tubes or passages open at the top and bottom.

The cage 1) is furnished with handles 0*- 11 for lifting it into and out of the case or body a, and the said case or body a is furnished with handles a (1 for lifting it from or placing it upon the pan or copper. The pan (1 is also furnished with handles (I (1 for lifting it upon or removing it from the tire, kitchen-range, or other source of heat.

In using the apparatus the cage 1; is removed from the case or body a, and the compartments m m of the cage are packed with the linen fabrics, clothes, or other articles to be washed or cleansed. \Vheu so packed the vertical spaces, passages, or flues i 1' are unobstructed by the packed linen or articles in the cage. The charged or packed cage I) being lifted into the body or case a by its handles 11 b the said cage is supported 011 the ledges c c c in the case or body, and the top of the case or body is closed by the lid or cover f. The apparatus having been placed upon and supported by the pan d, the latter, partly filled with water, is heated in the way before described, and the water therein boiled. The steam from the pan rises into and through the linen or articles packed in the compartments of the cage, and steam also passes, by the hollow or meshed divisions 0r flues i i and annular space or flue h, to the chamber g at the top of the apparatus, where it is condensed, the condensed water percolating or passing through the packed linen or articles in the cage, the condensed water in its passage dissolving any soluble matter it may come in contact with. By the action of the steam and condensed water upon the clothes or articles the greater part of the dirt and impurities is dissolved and detached, and the remainder is softened and brought into a state in which it is got rid of in the one rub tub. After the articles in the apparatus have been subjected to the combined act-ionot' the steam and the condensed water for a sufficient length of time they are removed from the cage and slightly rubbed by hand in the ordinary way of washing, and afterward rinsed or passed through clean warm or cold water. The softened dirt and impurities are by this treatment effectually removed, and the washing is complete.

When the apparatus is made of large size the meshed or reticulated or perforated cage or receiver may be made in halves, or in three or more parts, each half or part constituting a cage, the halves or parts where they join one another forming the vertical hollow or perforated or meshed divisions of the compound cage or receiver.

Although I prefer so to construct the cage or receiver that an annular space or flue, h, for the passage of steam to the condensingchamber is formed when the cage is put in its place in the case or body a, yet the cage may be made to fit closely in the body or case, and the cage, instead of being capable of removal from the body or case, may be permanently connected to and form part of the body or case.

Instead of one large reticulated or openwork cage situated within or fixed within an outer case or body, a series of trays arranged one upon the other may be employed. Each tray then consists of an outer frame, open at the top and bottom and sides, similar to the case a, but shallower, having within it a shallow reticulated or open-work cage, open at the top for receiving the linen or articles to be washed or cleansed, similar to the cage 1), but shallower. The cage part of the tray has vertical dues or hollow partitions in it for the upward passage of the steam, as before described. The outer frames of the several trays are connected together by the bottom of each tray engaging with a small trough in the top of the tray next below, the joints being approximately steam tight; but the several trays may be clamped or otherwise connected together. Each tray is furnished with a hinged door to obtain access to the cage within it, and the series of trays is surmounted by a cover. The lowest tray is supported on a hollow base or chamber, which is supplied with steam by a pipe, or otherwise supplied with steam; or the hollow base or chamber may be filled with water and heated by an external fire.

I am aware that heretofore a perforated cage or receiver having a perforated flattened cone extending up through it has been used in connection with a case or boiler formed in one part. Such flattened cone, however, was closed at the top and was not adapted to the free passage of the steam through it, as contemplated by my invention.

Having now described myinvention, and the manner in which it is to be used, what I claim 1s- FRANCIS DANIEL TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR THOMAS CARR, HENRY BREWIN, Clerks to Reece, Harris dl' Harris,

Solicitors, Birmingham, England. 

